About
From his childhood on a farm in southern Ontario, David Fraser has maintained a fascination with animals throughout his 50-year research career. His career included some of the earliest research on the welfare of intensively raised pigs (Edinburgh, 1971-1975) and research on the behaviour and management of moose (Ontario, 1975-1981). He then developed a research team on farm animal welfare and behaviour at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa (1981-1997). In 1997, he was appointed NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Animal Welfare at UBC, where he developed and taught several courses in animal welfare and mentored a long list of valued graduate students.
Prof. Fraser has worked with many organizations to find practical ways to improve the lives of animals. He has served as an advisor on animal welfare to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, Rome), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, Paris), the Food Marketing Institute and National Council of Chain Restaurants (Washington), and several major corporations. He was one of the founding members of Canada’s National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council. In 2005, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his role as a pioneer of animal welfare science.
For a video of Dr. David Fraser on animal welfare and the ethics of animal use, click here. For more information, see Dr. Fraser’s faculty page.
Please note that Prof. Fraser stopped accepting new graduate students in 2019 and ended his undergraduate teaching in 2021.
Education
B.A. (Toronto)
Ph.D. (Glasgow)